Photo/Illutration Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, speaks at a news conference on Oct. 31. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Two opposition parties agreed Nov. 5 to pass a further revision of the Political Fund Control Law by year-end, but discrepancies emerged over what the new changes would entail.

The agreement was made when Yoshihiko Noda, head of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, met with Yuichiro Tamaki, his counterpart in the Democratic Party for the People.

Revising the law has taken on urgency following the disastrous showing by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the recent Lower House election.

The LDP’s reaction to the money scandal over unreported political funds among party factions, including what were seen as weak legal revisions, was a key issue in the election.

Tamaki told reporters after his meeting with Noda that the DPP would cooperate with other opposition parties to present a proposal for revising the Political Fund Control Law to the ruling coalition.

However, there are important differences among the opposition parties concerning donations from companies and other organizations, such as labor unions.

In his meeting with Noda, Tamaki reiterated his party’s priorities for strengthening the Political Fund Control Law.

One of the DPP’s main points is to ban “policy activity expenses” that are doled out by parties to executives and other lawmakers. Reports on the use and purpose of these funds are not required.

The DPP also seeks clear reporting of how lawmakers use monthly funds received from the government ostensibly for research and publicity as well as establishing an outside organ to oversee political funds.

Noda pressed Tamaki to work together on a combined opposition party proposal that would ban donations from companies and organizations.

Such donations have long been considered a loophole.

Although such donations to individual lawmakers are banned, there are no provisions prohibiting these donations to political parties or the holding of fund-raising parties that company representatives can donate to.

Such donations are important not only to the LDP, but also the CDP and DPP, which rely on donations from the major labor unions that support them.

The DPP position is also slightly different from that of another opposition party, Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party).

The secretaries-general and chairs of the Diet Affairs Committee of the DPP and Nippon Ishin also met on Nov. 5.

But Fumitake Fujita, Nippon Ishin’s secretary-general, told reporters after the meeting that the DPP did not agree to immediately work toward a ban on company and organization donations.

(This article was written by Nozomi Matsui and Takahiro Okubo.)

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